Meet Abigail Adams, usually called Addie, one of the most recent additions to research associate professor Jack Dibb's flock of alpacas. Dibb, an atmospheric chemist in the Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space, has been raising alpacas on his small farm in Barrington, N.H., for almost 10 years. Addie, born on July 4, is one of 16 alpacas at home on the farm.

Dibb finds that the alpaca business is a perfect balance for his work as a scientist because it involves an entirely different community. "The whole endeavor is a lot more tangible than what I do as a researcher. I can say I've got this legacy—I've published a certain number of papers—but that is not something you can reach out and touch, not like alpaca-fiber hats and sweaters," he says. ~